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Joint-best career result in WorldSBK for Argentina’s Mercado!

Saturday, 6 July 2019 17:18 GMT

‘Tati’ Mercado has come back with a bang, taking a sixth place to give the Orelac Racing VerdNatura team their best result in WorldSBK!

Having missed a large portion of the season through injury, Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado has been a welcome feature inside the top ten in the last two rounds, taking a joint-best result of his career at Donington Park earlier today. The Argentine rider showcased his wet weather capabilities and charged up from 14th to 6th, his best result of the season.

Starting from the depths of row five, it was a very wet mountain that Mercado had to climb, in order to repeat his wet weather performance from Race 1 at Misano. However, a rapid start saw the 27-year-old from Córdoba saw him quickly enter the top ten, where he remained for the rest of the race. Staying upright was key and Mercado came across the line in sixth, giving the Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki outfit their best result since joining the WorldSBK class at the start of 2018.

Speaking after Race 1, Mercado stated: “It was a really good race for us and finally, we get a good result! This year hasn’t been easy, especially after my injury at MotorLand Aragon which meant I miss a lot of races. In Misano, we showed that we were getting faster every time, so I am really happy to get to sixth place today.”

The Argentine rider has now had three sixth-place finishes in WorldSBK, with his previous two coming in Race 2 at Losail in 2015 for the BARNI Racing Team and the other at Magny-Cours for the IodaRacing Aprilia.

Speaking about his feeling with the Donington Park circuit and the Kawasaki, he said: “For sure, this track helps the Kawasaki a lot. We see that yesterday in the dry, it is very strong. We took the right direction yesterday and this is not a very fast track where we struggle most. It is a very fluid track that suits my riding style. I hope that tomorrow, I can do two more good races!”

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